The Superman Secret
by BlueBassist
Summary: A collection of short stories revolving around revealing the big secret. Are you often on the edge of your seat while reading a story, waiting for someone to figure it out already? Were you ever frustrated at all the *that close* moments portrayed on the TV screen? Then this story is for you!
1. Chapter 1

The chapters contained herein are short stories with a theme: the secret is out! The character(s) learning about Clark's hidden talents could be anyone or everyone. This collection is completely a dessert buffet for those who, like me, are suckers for a revelation story. No worries, no consequences, just fun!

To be fair, these little barely fleshed out ideas for how the secret could get out are completely up for grabs! If one of these shorts gets your gears turning, or even if you want to use one explicitly, feel free! There's only one condition: you have to send me a link so I can read it! Like I said, I'm a sucker for revelation stories.

With all that said, enjoy!

* * *

A shrill electric ringing sounded from the phone on Lois' desk. "Lois Lane," she answered promptly, placing the receiver between her ear and her shoulder. Her hands were otherwise occupied with typing and shuffling through her notes. At the sound of the voice on the other end, however, her focus shifted.

"Yes, Ms. Lane, this is Dr. Klein."

"Dr. Klein! Can I help you?" The scientist from STAR labs didn't call for friendly conversation. Whatever he had to say would be interesting.

"Well, if you get the time, I would appreciate it if you could stop by the labs?" Dr. Klein ended the statement with a questioning tone.

"Of course. I'll be there in, oh, half an hour." Lois replied as she checked her watch. "Just let me finish up a few things."

"Good, I'll see you shortly then."

"See you soon, yes." The short conversation ended, and a few keystrokes later, Lois had completed and submitted her most recent story. She spoke to Clark as she gathered her purse and coat. "Clark, Dr. Klein asked me to meet him at STAR labs. Are you busy, or do you want to come with me?"

Clark was seated at his desk, jacket tossed over the back of his chair, with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "No," he spoke around the pencil in his mouth while looking between the papers in his hands and on his desk. Without putting the papers down, he removed the pencil. "You go ahead. I'm kind of tied up."

"Alright, I'll tell you about it later." Lois was halfway across the newsroom before Clark could even wave goodbye

* * *

"Dr. Klein?" Lois stepped through the doorway of Dr. Klein's laboratory.

"Ah, Lois! Thank you for coming so quickly. I was hoping you could deliver something to Superman for me."

"Sure. What?" Lois asked, curiosity piqued.

"Do you recall last year, when Jason Trask died and Bureau 39 was disbanded?" Lois nodded. "Well we recovered Superman's space ship from the Bureau's storage facilities, and Superman agreed to let us at STAR labs look it over if we promised to keep him updated on the research. So…" At this, Dr. Klein handed Lois a potted plant and a plastic grocery bag full of…peppers?

"What is this?" Lois, clearly confused, asked Dr. Klein.

"We were able to recover some organic material from the surface of the ship, and from some of the crevices, seeds. This is a plant grown from a cutting of one of the plants that germinated in the hydroponics unit we used to cultivate those seeds." Lois' elevated eyebrow prompted him to continue. "It's a Kryptonian pepper plant. As far as we can tell, its fruit is completely harmless. A chemical analysis turned up nothing unique, and the lab mice suffered no adverse effects from ingesting samples. Human testing followed, and, I can attest, the pepper isn't dangerous and really isn't even spicy."

He removed a pepper from the bag and cut it open with a scalpel. "Here, try a piece. It's sweet." Lois followed his lead in placing a piece of the pepper in her mouth and chewed slowly. He was right: it wasn't spicy. Instead, it tasted vaguely sweet and, generally, like a vegetable, kind of like corn.

"Mmm, it's good." Lois commented.

"Yes, well, tell Superman to keep the plant in full sunlight, and to water it occasionally. It's a very hardy plant."

* * *

"What's that?" Jimmy asked almost as soon as Lois reached her desk. She put the pepper plant next to the somewhat less healthy plant already on the corner of her workspace. The bag of peppers she dropped on her ink blotter.

"A Kryptonian pepper plant and Kryptonian peppers." Clark looked up from his work to where Jimmy and Lois were conversing.

"Whoa! Where'd you get it?" Jimmy asked as he reached for one of the peppers.

"Dr. Klein grew it from seeds on Superman's space ship."

"Huh. Is it safe?" Jimmy asked when the pepper passed his inspection. "I mean, for humans?"

"Yep, and they're good. Dr. Klein let me eat one earlier."

"Oh! Can I try one?" The ambitious copy boy was almost jumping up and down.

"Sure." Lois motioned for him to go ahead. "They aren't spicy, so dig in." Jimmy took a tentative bite. Once he'd confirmed Lois' description he bit off much more.

"Mmm! An alien pepper. This is so cool! CK, you have to try one!" Jimmy tossed a pepper to Clark at his desk.

"A Kryptonian pepper, you said?" Clark caught the pepper easily and directed his question to Lois.

"That's what Dr. Klein said. He wants me to deliver the plant to Superman, so if you see him will you tell him I have it?"

"Ah, sure. Sure, I'll tell him." Clark examined the pepper in his hands. It was bright red, the color of his cape, and the skin was unblemished. He wondered if it would taste familiar at all, but he figured he probably wasn't old enough for solid foods during his time on Krypton. Still, a little taste of home…the thought was intriguing.

"Come on, Clark, try it! It's not even spicy." Jimmy encouraged. Spicy foods had never affected Clark anyways, so he did as Jimmy said and took a big bite.

At first, he could taste the sweetness Lois and Jimmy had spoken of. It wasn't until he felt the first tingling that a small concept of biology crossed his mind. Pepper plants evolved to be spicy to animals in order to prevent their getting eaten. A Kryptonian pepper would have evolved to burn those with Kryptonian DNA, so a human may very well perceive a sweet taste. For a Kryptonian, though, even one now endowed with superpowers…Clark could tell this was going to be a bad experience.

Still, the sensation was only an intense tingling, until he opened his mouth to draw in a cooling breath. Somehow the contact with the air gave power to the half-chewed plant matter in his mouth. He couldn't let Lois or Jimmy see that it was bothering him, or they may start to wonder why it would. So, he continued to chew. Another breath was too tempting with the heat in his mouth, but once again the air only made the fiery sensation more potent. His own hot exhalation did nothing to quench the heat. Clark could only imagine that if he'd been able to feel that bomb he'd swallowed on the Messenger Shuttle that his current predicament would be a close approximation…if not worse. He couldn't fake his stoicism any longer; his eyes were beginning to water. A gasping breath still didn't help but to draw away the heat for a bare second.

"Clark? Are you okay?" Lois looked concerned. Clark nodded hastily. The surface tension of the water in his eyes finally gave away to sheer volume, and the ensuing tears exposed his nod as a lie. Another bout of gasping didn't help.

"Clark? It's not even spicy! What's wrong with you?"

He swallowed a bolus of pepper matter and juices in order to answer. "I- _aaaa_ " he could only whine in surprise as the fire increased ten-fold in his esophagus.

"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that." Lois chided him. "Come on, Clark, the peppers are sweet. Quit fooling around."

Clark pinched his mouth shut and glared at her through squinted, watery eyes. He started to suspect that Earth's yellow sun had given the pepper plants super pepper powers. The pain continued to increase as he broke out into a sweat and dove for the coffee mug sitting by his monitor. Surely its contents were nowhere near as hot as this!

"Hey CK, are you okay? I could get you some water." At Clark's desperate look, Jimmy darted away to fulfill his promise. Lois stepped over to his desk and took the rest of the demon pepper from Clark's hand. His whole body felt hot, especially his face. Sweat was beginning to drip into his eyes and his nose was running. Not a pretty sight, he was sure.

"Clark, you're sweating. You never sweat!"

"Its. _Gasp_. Hot." Seconds passed as the heat increased. No way was this not a super pepper.

"Clark! Your eyes! Your glasses! Your glasses are melting! Your eyes are glowing and your glasses are melting!" Dread mixed with the piece of pepper in his stomach to make him extremely nauseated. His body must have been evacuating heat any way it could. Sure enough, his frames started drooping off his face shortly after Lois pointed it out. As if things weren't bad enough, the moment his glasses finally fell off, his body's unauthorized use of heat vision stepped up.

The papers resting on his desk burst into flame as the world took on a reddish tinge. He tried closing his eyes, but could only squint as his tears were boiled away. Meanwhile the fire on his desk grew as Lois yelped in surprise. Clark risked looking around for some kind of fire extinguisher, but was only rewarded with a line of flames cropping up wherever he looked. Someone's trash can went up, and the screen of Lois' computer monitor cracked with a flash of electricity before he could return his gaze safely to his own desk.

With everyone screaming and yelling, it wasn't long before Perry came rushing out of his office. "What in Sam Hill is going on out here?" he bellowed, just as Jimmy returned with a cup of water. Perry took in the scene before him: multiple fires and general chaos, and Clark Kent seated at his flaming desk, a pained, panicked expression on his face. Clark looked eerily familiar without his glasses; that stood out even amidst the confusion. That familiarity, and the realization that it was only when Clark switched his gaze to the floor that the tile caught fire, allowed Perry to piece together what was going on and take command.

"Clark!" Perry barked, "Close your eyes!"

"I…can't!" Clark gasped out.

"Cover them then, with your hands!" Clark did as he was told and both Perry and Lois had to duck as the faintly visible lines of red heat issuing forth from Clark's eyes were deflected by his hands and started burning things at a little over waist level. "Everybody duck under your desks! Jimmy! Guide Clark to the men's room!" Perry ordered his employees about as if this were just another newspaper emergency.

Jimmy dove under the line of destruction as Clark stood, and the ever-helpful gofer put his hands on Clark's back. The pair made the journey as quickly as possible with coworkers screaming and diving for cover. Jimmy lined Clark up with the sink and turned on the faucet.

"There you go…um…CK." Clark dropped his hands and stared at the stream of water, vaporizing it the moment it left the tap. Jimmy had to back away to avoid a steam burn. While the water did keep his heat vision occupied, it did nothing for the pain in his mouth and digestive system.

"This isn't working." Clark grunted. His cover was already blown, so he wasted no time in pulling the sink off the wall. Jimmy watched as his best friend effortlessly pulled the sink from its spot on the wall and tossed it in the corner. Said best friend then knelt and held his face in the turbulent fount of water spraying out of the pipes. When the heat vision abated, Clark opened his mouth wide to let the spray of water wash away the remnants of the pepper juices. Once the stinging began to die, he took long draughts of the water to soothe his throat and stomach. When he felt well enough to face his friend, he pinched off the two small pipes between his fingers and stood.

Clark looked in the mirror. He was soaking wet, his eyes were bloodshot, and his glasses were missing. He turned to face Jimmy and gave an awkward smile.

"Thanks." His voice sounded gravelly. Jimmy didn't respond. Upon exiting the bathroom, the newsroom was eerily quiet. A few of the more levelheaded had extinguished Clark's workstation, and the fires started on his trek to the bathroom. If Lois had heat vision, her glare would have put them right back where they'd been moments before.

"Clark," Perry started, "Is there anything you'd like to tell us?"

"Um, yes sir…" Clark couldn't come up with any explanation. "That was one hot pepper."

* * *

I do not claim to be an excellent writer, but if you'd like to help me get there, leave a review! No holds barred! Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

A new chapter! I'll half-heartedly apologize for the delay between updates. The other half of my heart is busy doing engineering homework.

As always, all of these scenarios are up for grabs to use in your own fiction, just be sure to tell me so I can read it!

Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Spring had sprung in Metropolis. Flowers were blooming in planters, dogwoods perfuming Centennial Park, ginkgo trees leafing out in their small squares of soil in the sidewalks. The temperature had finally reached a steady seventy degrees. Some unfortunates were suffering from allergies, but Clark, ever invulnerable, was only suffering from a little spring fever. His apartment had already become victim to a dangerously super-speedy spring cleaning, and with the same vigor having been applied to both his jobs over the past few days, this day was shaping up to be slow. No, lackadaisical. No…pleasant. Winter seemed to have colored the city in shades of gray for so long, lack of activity had normally been a cause of cabin fever, but in this new world of color, sweet smells, and sunshine, an easy day was an enjoyable one.

A similar mood seemed to be prevalent among the other occupants of the newsroom, the relaxed atmosphere almost tangible upon exiting the elevator. The windows were open, few lights were on. The sun was allowed to do most of the lighting. All the temptations and distractions of spring, however, couldn't entirely tame the hustle and bustle of the bullpen of a major newspaper. Phones were ringing, keyboards clacking. The copier could be heard whirring in the next room. A light breeze from the window added to the entropy when it gently moved a few papers from their place on a desk to rest on the floor.

"Clark!" Lois' voice interrupted his observation, but didn't remove the pleased smile from his face. Clark turned towards the sound and raised an eyebrow to indicate she had his attention. "Come on, we're working in the conference room."

"On what?" he asked as he followed Lois' clicking footsteps.

"Perry's got us on the robbery of that summer academy," she spoke as she closed the door. "He got a tip that one of the sponsors may have been behind it, so we are going through the financial records and histories of the many individuals and companies who have ever donated more than five hundred dollars." She inclined her head towards the intimidating accumulation of folders and papers already collected on the conference room table. The stack in Lois' arms soon joined it.

"There was nothing more…" Clark struggled for an adjective.

"Exciting? Weighty? Worthy of our time?" Lois supplied. Her choices made it clear how she felt about the assignment. Clark's silence was taken as agreement. "No. Slow news day. Slow news week." She sighed as she sank into one of the hard wooden chairs scattered around the table. Clark followed suit and soon they were both up to their elbows in paper records.

Over time, the numbers started going blurry. Clark rubbed his eyes under his glasses, slightly irritated that he couldn't take them off. "Ugh!" Lois heaved the folders in her lap onto the table and stood up abruptly. "I need a mental break. I'm going to go make some phone calls to a few of these people, see if I can't get a more corporeal lead. You want me to bring some coffee back with me?" She paused with her hand on the door knob.

"Sure, sounds good." Clark stretched and sighed his answer in commiseration. Once Lois was safely at her desk, however, a short burst of super speed had Clark much farther along in his stack. He decided not to finish so that he'd have something to work on when Lois returned. In the meantime though, his eyes still felt dry and tired, and the sun beaming through the open window, warming his dark sport coat, had him both feeling like he'd just eaten Thanksgiving dinner, and as if he were wrapped in a warm blanket. Lois wouldn't be back for a while, he could tell by her conversation, and he didn't see any harm in relaxing for a little bit. He was way ahead of her in the paper records now, after all. So he propped his feet up on the table edge and leaned back until his shoulders were almost resting on the windowsill.

The dull roar of traffic outside and the laughter of children in the park soon lulled him into sleep. He dreamt of a hammock. The leaves of the trees above him glowed with the sunlight. He slowly drifted up out of the cradling net until he was floating among the clouds, the color of the sky only slighter lighter than the blue of his _other_ suit.

* * *

The weather had Lois somewhat grumpy. Not because it was bad, but because it was beautiful outside. Instead of getting to enjoy it, chasing down some thrilling story, she was stuck inside going through financial records. Not long after she and Clark began, she started getting antsy. Her leg started bouncing, and shortly thereafter she could no longer tolerate sitting still. Tossing her work onto the table, she gave Clark an excuse and left the room. She had a couple of ideas about whom to call for more information, but nothing that would keep her very long.

Twenty minutes or so later, Lois found herself without reason to avoid the conference room any longer. She felt kind of guilty about leaving Clark to slog through by himself, so she put an extra sugar in his coffee before returning. Without spilling a drop she opened the door to the conference room holding both coffees, and nudged it closed with her foot. No one witnessed her feat, however, because her partner was asleep.

"Clark." She tried to wake him while she carefully placed the mugs among the precariously stacked papers. He didn't even stir. "Clark." She repeated slightly louder. Her patience was still running thin, despite her break, which may have been what prompted her to unbalance his chair instead of attempting a friendlier wake-up call. She expected him to start awake, arms flailing, until he could land the chair on all four legs again. According to physics that was a reasonable expectation. She _wasn't_ expecting the chair to fall to the floor without its occupant, which is exactly what happened.

The aged wooden chair fell to the carpeted floor with a heavy, rattling thud, but not a sound sharp enough to wake Clark. She stood back for a moment to take in the scene before her. Clark, the average guy who was her partner, was almost horizontal, a good three or four feet above the floor, with only his feet in contact with any solid object. Sound asleep with a small smile on his face, his lack of amazement at his own position made it only more maddening. When Lois finally closed her mouth and shook her head, she realized that she wasn't the only one who would be able to see him. She quickly moved to pull the blinds down between the newsroom and theirs before returning to stand by the floating Clark. Or Superman; Superman being the only answer she could think of to the question of 'How?'. A quick peek between the buttons of his shirt confirmed her suspicions.

The liar. The no-good, but too-good, dirty, rotten, heroic liar. Experimentally, Lois pushed against his back and was only slightly further bewildered when he floated up easily, as if he weighed no more than the air on which he was resting. Somewhat amused, she pushed on his ribs, and had to suppress a giggle at the sight of him rotating about in the air, his sport coat and hair dangling off him. Her previous ire returned quickly, though, and she formulated a plan for revenge. Stopping Clark's slow barrel roll with one hand, she maneuvered him so that he was lined up with the open window. A gentle shove on his feet had him outside the building, and small tugs on his clothing kept him from getting far enough away from the wall to be noticed by passing pedestrians.

A well-aimed rubber band didn't even leave a red mark on his face. _Of course,_ she remembered, _Man of Steel,_ which meant that piping hot coffee wouldn't scald him. Lois promptly upended Clark's mug over his face and retreated to watch.

He woke up spluttering. "Whoa," he exclaimed when he noticed his proximity to the ground relative to where he'd fallen asleep. When he noticed Lois his eyes widened, and, with a decidedly un-super yelp, he dropped like a rock. A brief panicked moment passed as Lois hurried to look out the window, but the moment she reached the windowsill, he did too.

Clark's expression was mostly sheepish, but he had the gall to include a measure of sternness.

"Don't you give me that look!" Lois defended.

"Lois—"

"You're the one who was floating, for goodness' sake!"

"Lois—"

"I can't believe it. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"…Twitterpated?"

* * *

If you liked it, let me know. If you hated it, let me know. :D


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